Benji Webbe and Skindred’s First New Zealand Concert is Finally Here

Benji Webbe is the charismatic and dynamic frontman for British band Skindred, and he gave Red Raven News a brief introduction and history of this band which has been active for 23 years and counting.

They are playing their inaugural show here just before Easter, at the Paraoa Brewing Co. in Whangaparaoa.

Webbe himself has described the band as Punk Reggae, which accurately describes the genesis of Skindred.

But there are more elements than that going into the mix. A heavy influence of progressive Metal and they have been labelled as Ragga Metal and even Nu-Reggae by the band themselves.

Clive John CJ Benji Webbe was born and raised in Newport Wales. His father was among the first immigrants from the West Indies to arrive in the United Kingdom. His mother came from Cardiff.

Growing up in Newport and while it may have been predominantly European, the diversity of race and ethnicity was growing.

Both parents died early, and Webbe found himself an orphan at age 11. A lot of the subsequent parenting fell towards his older brother.

His brother was a Rasta in a Reggae band, and of course the influence of Bob Marley and the Wailers was huge in the household.

Webbe reminds me that Jamaican music had a wider base, Marley being the biggest breakout artist from the West Indies into the sphere of Rock, with the help of Chris Blackwell from Island records.

There were Toots and the Maytals and their Gospel-influenced Ska, the brilliant and innovative producer and musician Lee Scratch Perry, the Rocksteady of the Pioneers and others.

In the wake of Marley came contemporaries, Eek-A-Mouse, Clint Eastwood & General Saint, Dillinger, and Dr Alimentado.

Reggae was a broad field already but along came the Punk explosion, British and American style.

At the street level Webbe heard the common ground between them. Skinheads, Punks, Rude Boys and Rastas’.

Of the Two-Tone movement which embraced this with mixed-race performers, it was the Specials which captured some of the essential soul of Webbe.

I listened to everything. There was a lot of Motown and Northern Soul as a youngster. There was Bowie, Slade and T-Rex to follow.

The influence of Metal and Rap is not unsurprising then for someone who has music as an overriding passion.

As Webbe and other stellar musical artists have stated, there are only two types of music, good and all the rest.

The first band he formed was called Dub War, and they produced two albums before internal and external forces caused their demise. The Metal Ragga template was forged.

Skindred followed in the wake and formed in 1998.

Their first album Babylon (naturally) was released in 2002 and received a generally favourable response in the British music press.

Daniel Pugsley on bass was there at the start with Webbe. Mikey Demus guitar and Arya Goggin drums joined in 2002 with that debut album.

They have built up a large following with relentless live performances and touring and are now a sell-out guarantee around Europe.

One interesting story that caught my attention was a Polish Woodstock in 2011, and a claim of a million attendees!

This was a festival held on the border of Germany and Poland, and it was a fund-raising event for charity. People had flooded into the venue. Webbe had estimates of 700,000.

At this point he is at pains to point out that the band play the same intensity for a stadium as they would do for tiny venue. Live performance is his raison d’etre.  

They have toured Australia several times over the last decade and a half but have always missed coming to New Zealand.

Webbe talks about the devastating nature that the pandemic madness had in the UK and Europe.

It sounded worse than what was experienced here. Many musicians took the huge hit of loss of livelihood and had to give it away and find other employment.

Skindred’s full schedule of bookings all disappeared. Fear and dread ruled, reinforced by what was being fed through the media.

I made it a creative time personally says Webbe. He wrote many new songs.

Out of that came Smile, released in 2023 which has become their biggest selling.

We will be experiencing the full-frontal assault of Skindred on the eve of Easter 2024 here in Auckland. Tickets are available HERE:

Rev. Orange Peel